Google Policy Shift: Gmail and Photos Data Now Fuel Targeted Advertising

One week after October 16, Google’s updated privacy policy now permits Gmail, Drive, and Photos content to influence the advertisements users encounter. This shift removes a previous blanket restriction that stated personalized ads were not based on user content from those specific applications. The change is directly tied to the rollout of the Personal Intelligence feature, which began its beta phase earlier this year.

The core alteration lies in a specific exception added to the policy text. Earlier drafts explicitly excluded Drive, Gmail, and Photos data from ad targeting calculations. The current language includes a clause stating this exclusion applies unless users choose to make data from these services available to other Google services that support personalized ads. While the wording is broad, the mechanism appears to be activated by enabling Personal Intelligence for an account.

Personal Intelligence allows the Gemini assistant to draw on data shared across the Google ecosystem, including Search, Photos, Gmail, and Drive. The policy outlines a practical exchange where users grant services like Search or Gemini access to data from Workspace apps and Photos. In return, Google personalizes the user’s experience. A specific example in the document notes that Search may process accessed data to tailor content, including the ads displayed to the user.

Google maintains that it is not handing over the raw contents of inboxes, cloud storage, or photo libraries to advertisers. Instead, the revised language creates a pathway for connected content to inform targeting in places like Search. The company’s stance on personally identifying information remains unchanged. Advertisers still cannot see details like a user’s name or email address without explicit permission, a provision identical to previous versions of the policy.

For those concerned, Personal Intelligence remains an opt-in feature. Users can review their current status by navigating to the Data & privacy section of the My Account page. From there, they should select Personalization settings and then Manage Personalized Recommendations in Search services. This page includes a Turn off button that disables personalized recommendations entirely, offering a direct way to revert to the previous model.